RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

How Close Can Copper Be to Board

Edge?

When designing printed circuit boards (PCBs), one important consideration is

how close the copper traces and pads can be placed to the edge of the board

without risking connectivity issues or shorts. There are a few key factors that

determine the minimum clearance needed between copper and board edge,

including:

Manufacturing capabilities

PCB fabrication processes have minimum requirements for how close copper

can extend to the edge of the board or cutouts before running into breakage

or other reliability risks during manufacturing.

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Environment and operating conditions

The environment the board will exist in and electrical operating conditions

impact minimum spacing rules to prevent unwanted arcing, corrosion, or

currents from developing across the board edge.

Standard design rules

Industry PCB layout guidelines and IPC standards provide baseline

recommendations for minimum spacing between traces/pads and board

edges. While these can help guide designs, they may still need to be tailored to

your specific application.

In this article, we’ll dive deeper into common suggestions and requirements

around placing copper near the edge of a PCB.

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Board House Fabrication Capabilities

One of the most fundamental limitations on how close copper can come to the

board edge or cutouts in a PCB comes down to the capabilities of your board

fabrication shop. During the complex processes used manufacture boards,

there are physical and chemical limitations regarding how small of gaps can be

maintained between copper and the board edge.

Drilling, routing, imaging, plating, etching, scoring, breaking, and all other

steps have associated tolerances, inaccuracies, copper build up considerations,

etc. Attempting to place traces or pads too close to cutouts or the edge can

result in:

 Copper being etched away or damaged during processing

 Poor coverage or plating of copper surfaces
 Reduced mechanical strength
 Incomplete etching leaving unwanted copper remnants
 Higher susceptibility to shorts and leakage currents

To avoid these defects and reliability risks, fabricators need a minimum

distance they can rely on between crucial board features and the edge.

Standard Fabrication Capabilities

Most PCB manufacturers list the design rules and their capabilities on their

website or in documentation provided to customers. Typically minimum

spacing requirements from the edge will be in the range of:

 0.2mm to 0.3mm for traces and pads

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 0.4mm to 0.6mm for cut outs and slots

However, these may reduced for high layer count boards >16 layers where

registration capabilities improve. On the other hand, boards with thicker

profiles or special substrates may require increased spacing.

Consult directly with your fabricator about your specific design to determine

their recommendations.

Improving Trace-to-Edge Capability

If your design's functionality relies on traces or pads being closer to the board

edge than your fabricator's standard spacing rules allow, there are a few things

that can potentially improve results:

 Specify panelization requirements - Requiring coupons or tooling holes may force

tighter handling and registration during fabrication, allowing reduced edge spacings.
 Tapered edge profiles - Using a controlled edge slope instead of vertical sidewalls
weakens dielectric strength gradually, improving reliability with tight coppers clearances.
 Post-process routing - By fabricating boards oversized then precision routing to final
dimensions, trace-to-edge variability can be reduced.

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 Establish a fab process partnership - Collaborate with your PCB maker to enable process
tweaks like custom sidewall angles, alternate materials, etc. tailored for your boards.

TABLE: Standard Fabrication Capabilities

Environmental Operating Conditions

In addition to pure fabrication capability constraints, functional environmental

conditions must also be considered that could affect reliability when copper is

too close to the board edge. The spacings needed to prevent issues like

unwanted leakage currents, corrosion, condensation shorts and other

environmental interactions will depend on factors such as:

Condensing Humidity Environments

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Condensation and moisture collection along the edges of a PCB can be

disruptive even with ample spacing from nearby copper traces. But as copper

features get closer and closer to the board perimeter, the impacts of moisture

intrusion get progressively worse:

 Condensate bridging risks increase

 Creepage/clearance distances shrink
 Corrosion susceptibility goes up
 Dielectric layers may delaminate

In high humidity or frequently condensing environments, additional spacing

should be used (potentially 1mm+) beyond typical fabrication

recommendations to provide a safety margin. Conformal coatings also help

protect against condensation issues.

High Voltage Circuits

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For PCBs operating at elevated voltages, spacing guidelines must account for

required creepage and clearance distances dictated both by safety standards

and functional voltage withstand considerations.

As an example, spacing on high voltage boards may need to follow IPC 2221

generic clearance requirements such as:

TABLE: IPC-2221 Spacings for High Voltage Boards

Of course, these could be tailored to application-specific needs and dielectric

strength characteristics. But in high potential environments, both standard

guidance and physics must be considered when determining min.

copper-to-edge distances.

Standard Design Guidance

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Industry PCB layout guidelines help provide designers common baselines for

minimum clearance requirements on boards, including edge spacings. Some of

the most common standards include:

IPC Standards

The Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) publishes numerous

guidelines related to PCB fabrication and design such as:

 IPC-2221 - Generic Standard on Printed Board Design

 IPC-2222 - Sectional Design Standard for Rigid Organic Printed Boards

These recommend minimum annular rings, conductor widths, clearance

between traces, and other helpful spacing rules which are widely used across

the industry.

Manufacturer Design Rules

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As referenced previously, most PCB fabrication shops provide downloadable

design rule documents that spell out the capabilities and limitations of their

processes. These include restrictions like:

 Copper feature sizes

 Hole diameters
 Edge spacing requirements
 And more

By following these specific design rules, you can ensure your board layouts

align with your specific manufacturer's process capabilities.

Layout Considerations for Edge Clearances

When designing your PCB layout to accommodate edge clearance

requirements between copper and board extremities, here are some helpful

guidelines to follow:

 Leave margins in layout software - Define keepout regions in your EDA tools offset from
the edges to prevent accidental copper encroachment.
 Watch rigid corners/shapes - Tight inside corners of traces or pads concentrate stresses
and field intensities.
 Focus on high E-field regions - Areas with rapidly switching currents or high voltage
differentials demand more spacing.

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 Simulate potential failure points - Use modeling tools to identify weak areas prone to
arcing, leakage or shorts.
 Label clearance requirements - Specify on layout drawings where increased spacings are
needed relative to base guidelines.
 Document design rules - Record the actual underlying design rules used for trace widths,
annular rings, etc. in your notes.

Real-World Examples

To make appropriate copper-to-edge spacing more tangible, here are some

example scenarios and what suitable design clearances might be:

Low Voltage Multilayer Board

An interior 6-layer board operating below 50V in an enclosed indoor

application could utilize standard IPC-2221 spacing:

 0.2mm copper to board edge

 0.3mm clearance between traces
 0.15mm annular rings

Since environment is mild and voltages low, no additional spacing margins

would be necessary.

High Power Motor Controller

A 2-layer PCB used to control high current motors in an outdoor robotic

system would require more generous spacing:

 0.3mm minimum pad/trace clearance to edge

 1mm slot/cutout clearance
 0.5mm spacing between traces
 Conformal coating for environmental protection

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Wider gaps used due to potential moisture exposure and close trace routing

with high dynamic currents.

High Voltage Plasma Generator

For boards operating at 5000V and able to arc over 1cm+ clearances, very wide

spacing from board edges is mandatory:

 5mm+ copper keepout zone from board perimeter

 Precision edge tolerances with post-process machining
 Expanded internal trace clearances (>4mm)
 Kingspool testing of assembled boards

Since sustained arcing risks device damage, clearance rules keep high field

regions well-contained.

Frequently Asked Questions

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How are standard PCB edge clearance guidelines determined?

Guidelines are established based on empirical testing data of fabrication

process capabilities and electrical failure modes, then consolidated into

published standards by industry organizations like IPC or shared privately by

individual manufacturers.

Do edge clearance requirements apply to slots/cutouts in the

board as well?

Yes, openings in the board that create new perimeter edges have the same

spacing needs as the outer edges of the board. For cutouts and slots, clearance

margins may need to be larger.

Can PCB edge clearances be reduced by coating the board after

fabrication?

In some cases conformal coatings, pottings, or sealants applied after

manufacture can allow reduced edge spacing. But material properties and

coverage reliability need to be reviewed to ensure robust environmental

protection.

What if my design requires closer trace-to-edge spacing than

fabricators can support?

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For products requiring closer copper to board edges than typical design rules

allow, often a custom post-processing method (like precision machining or

laser cutting) is needed after initial fabrication.

How often are standard clearance/spacing design rules updated?

PCB Fabricators update their capabilities over time with process improvements

or new offerings. Major industry groups like IPC review standards every 5-10

years. Check with your board shops or standards body for latest revisions.

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